Presented by HARMON TRAVEL.
Wednesday Weekly…April 16, 2025.
College football’s spring transfer portal opens today, with Boise State’s Andrew Simpson and Braxton Fely already ticketed for it. And now you can add punter James Ferguson-Reynolds. That’s another tough one, as JFR had become a fan favorite with his Aussie punts and Aussie sense of humor. Ferguson-Reynolds led the nation in punting average in 2023, setting a school record at 49.7 yards per boot. He’s been handcuffed in the NIL arena, since he’s an international player. But maybe there’s something we don’t know. At any rate—no JFR at the Spring Game on Saturday. The only other punters on the roster are Jarrett Reeser, the junior transfer from San Diego State who hasn’t punted since high school, and Roland Podestra, who happens to be from Australia himself. It’s a soap opera: As the NIL turns…
STANDING OUT IN THE WR ROOM
The story of the spring—or the worry of the spring—has been the Boise State wide receivers room situation. Cam Camper’s done, and Prince Strahan’s gone. The Broncos need to identify a go-to guy. Beyond the obvious candidates, Austin Bolt and the injured Latrell Caples, who’s out there? Far be it from me to question the evaluation of my colleagues, who say Cameron Bates has been a revelation in spring ball. Bates’ speed and route-running put him in the conversation, and he’ll have a spotlight in Saturday’s Spring Game. Bates was on the field from Day 1 last year, making his first career catch at Georgia Southern (for 16 yards and a first down). His first touchdown came on a reverse against Portland State—Bates is still looking for his first TD catch. I’m thinking it’s not going to take him long to get it.
SANUSI & AMERICAN FOOTBALL
In spring football, you just take bits and pieces of information and see what you can make of them. After Boise State spring scrimmage No. 2 last Saturday, coach Spencer Danielson shared that the Broncos had rushing touchdowns from Breezy Dubar, Dylan Riley and Fresno State transfer Malik Sherrod. And that there was a long touchdown pass from Maddux Madsen to Matt Lauter. But Lopez Sanusi’s name came up again via a fumble recovery. Wouldn’t it be cool if Sanusi gave Boise State its next Ahmed Hassanein story. There have been FBS players from Ireland, but I’m trying to find one who wasn’t a kicker or a punter. Sanusi is from Dublin, and he came to Boise via the NFL Academy in London. 247 Sports listed him as the second-best overall prospect to come out of the NFL’s England Academy in 2024.
AT LEAST THERE IS ONE
When college football spring games, especially at the Power 4 level, started dropping left and right, I was worried about Boise State’s version of the event. There has been some talk about it in the Varsity Center the past few years. Fortunately for fans, Danielson has influence inside the building, and the show will go on Saturday afternoon on the blue turf. Some coaches have worried about other programs scouting their spring games and going after their good young talent. Danielson isn’t worried about that—I mean, what can you really tell with vanilla plays being called? “The community being a part of this football team and our football team being a part of this community matters deeply to me,” said Danielson at his March 10 press conference as spring ball was getting underway.
DON’T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS
Ashton Jeanty going No. 6 to the Raiders is a lock? It’s not a done deal. In the NFL Draft, it’s never a done deal. There’s been talk of the Broncos or the Browns or the Cowboys trading up to get him in that spot. Or, if you listen to Tashan Reid of The Athletic, Las Vegas could just select somebody else. Writes Reid, “Raiders GM John Spytek loves linemen and won’t hesitate to upgrade the unit. Insert Armand Membou, a 6-foot-4, 332-pounder who possesses a freakish combination of athleticism, strength and agility. He was a two-year starter at Missouri and spent the majority of his time at right tackle. He’ll be just 21 this season and has a ton of potential. While he’d have to compete with incumbent starting right tackle DJ Glaze, Membou would likely be a day-one starter with the Raiders.” Buckle your chin straps.
AS FOR HASSANEIN…
The most comprehensive NFL Draft Guide out there is “The Beast”, compiled by draft guru Dane Brugler of The Athletic—more than 400 player profiles and 2,700 prospects. So it’s a good barometer on Ahmed Hassanein’s chances of joining Jeanty as draft choices out of Boise State. Brugler says “Hassanein is an easy player to appreciate, because he is productive and his nonstop motor stresses blockers,” as well as his status as the first player from Egypt to ever play FBS football. The drawbacks for Hassanein? “His run-game awareness and immature pass-rush sequencing are underdeveloped. The missed tackles are bothersome, too.” Overall, though: “Given his meager football experience, NFL teams are intrigued by his untapped upside.” Brugler grades Hassanein as a sixth-round pick.
LESS THAN SIX MONTHS ‘TIL THIS ONE
Love that Wilner Hotline from Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News. Wilner has identified the five best games of 2025 involving West Coast college football teams, and Boise State-Notre Dame is on it. Writes Wilner: “The Broncos agreed to this one-off game last summer—Notre Dame won’t make a return trip to Boise—and they’ll collect a small fortune for their efforts. (The reported guarantee: $1.35 million.) But beyond the financials, this marquee midseason matchup offers Boise State an A-level data point for its postseason resume. A quality performance in South Bend will provide rocket fuel comparable to what the Broncos received following their narrow loss at Oregon last September.” Also, announced yesterday: the game between the Broncos and Fighting Irish on October 6 will be aired on Peacock.
BRONCOS PROPPED UP BY THE PORTAL
Out goes Dylan Anderson, in comes former Rocky Mountain High big man Drew Fielder, as the transfer portal now giveth to Boise State. Fielder started every game for Georgetown this past season, and according to On3 Sports, was one of the most sought-after forwards in the portal. So much so that Fielder committed to USC before decommitting and going with the Broncos, so this is a much better get than Anderson was a year ago. Coach Leon Rice probably ran into Fielder at the College Basketball Crown two weeks ago, as the Hoyas lost to Nebraska before Boise State did. What happens in Vegas…well, you know. Fielder, who’s 6-11, 235 pounds, averaged 7.1 points and 5.4 rebounds in the season just completed. He left Rocky after his sophomore year to hone his skills at Southern California Academy.
DEGENHART DOINGS
Next up for Boise State star Tyson Degenhart is NBA Draft prep (the draft is June 25). Degenhart is on the bubble, to be sure. Sports Illustrated, for example, has him as a “potential” second-round pick. A couple months ago, critics were pointing to his three-point percentage, as a 6-8 guy has to be consistent from deep in the NBA. But Deggie rallied down the stretch in that department, shooting 44 percent from beyond the arc over his final 10 games. A FOX Sports story on him during the Crown was in Degenhart’s corner, with Butler coach Thad Matta saying “He gets you in so many different ways. He doesn’t make mistakes. He’s patient. Reads the defense as well as any guy I’ve coached against.” George Washington coach Chris Caputo said, “I would think that there’s a place for him somewhere in the NBA.”
Degenhart begins play today at the Portsmouth Invitational. That’s essentially an NBA scouting tournament held every year in Virginia, giving second-level prospects a chance to showcase themselves in a competitive hoops framework. Degenhart will suit up for the team sponsored by Norfolk Sports Club, with games beginning Wednesday and concluding on Saturday. Tyson will team up with two guys he played against this season: Clemson’s Viktor Lakhin and Butler’s Jahmyl Telfort. There are two other Mountain West players on Portsmouth rosters: New Mexico’s Nelly Junior Joseph and Nevada’s Kobe Sanders.
MID-APRIL END TO THE STEELIES SEASON
The Idaho Steelheads knew they faced an uphill battle last week, needing at least two wins over Kansas City to make the Kelly Cup Playoffs. The Steelheads would be on home ice, but the Mavericks came in as the best team in the ECHL’s Mountain Division. The worst-case scenario played out, as KC swept the Steelies to end their season. The team award winners for 2024-25 included Ty Pelton-Byce with the Cal Ingraham Leading Scorer Award, Trevor Zins as Defenseman of the Year, Ben Kraws as Rookie of the Year, Patrick Kudla with the Bill Campbell Community Service Award, A.J. White as Most Valuable Player and Boise native C.J. Walker with the Steelheads Hustle Award.
This Day In Sports…brought to you by BBSI BOISE…payroll, process and prosperity for your business.
April 16, 2009: An iconic sports building makes its debut, and an iconic sports figure bows out. The new Yankee Stadium opened, replacing the storied ballpark next door that had served the Bronx for 86 years. It didn’t go so well on the field, as the Cleveland Indians routed the Yanks, 10-2. And John Madden, the former Oakland Raiders coach who became arguably the most popular NFL color analyst of all-time, retired after 30 years in the broadcast booth. Madden made his mark working alongside Pat Summerall on CBS and Fox, then cemented his legacy pairing with Al Michaels on ABC Monday Night Football and NBC Sunday Night Football.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra and anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK. He also served as color commentator on KTVB’s telecasts of Boise State football for 14 seasons.)
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